PLEASANTON — Waking up for a 9:30 a.m. lecture on a weekend might not sound like most teenagers’ idea of a good time, but more than 600 turned out Saturday for just that.

And they actually seemed to like it.

But with the new dynamics of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s “Science on Saturday” lecture series, it’s not hard to see why the 12-year-old program has recently become so popular.

The program features a presentation by a lab scientist who discusses the latest technology on anything from lasers to the origins of the universe.

This Saturday, Livermore Lab scientist Allen Christian shared his knowledge and experience in a presentation called “Inside Forensics: Behind CSI.”

The program, which was nearly discontinued afew years ago, got a fresh start this year when local high school science teachers were asked to work with scientists presenting the material to make it more palatable.

“The teachers are there to help them give feedback on what the public would really like to hear,” said Kirk Brown, a Tracy High School biotechnology teacher who worked with Christian for his presentation.

Now people have to be turned away once the 600-seat Amador Theater is full. More than 150 people were turned away this Saturday because of the packed house. Those who did make it inside for the free presentation were treated to an inside look at what Lawrence Livermore employees do to help develop cutting-edge technologies used to analyze evidence and identify and track down criminals in crime scene investigations.

“It’s nice to humanize the sciences,” said Christian of the program. “I think it’s really valuable.”

Because the lab is funded through taxpayer dollars, Christian and his colleagues stressed the importance of sharing research.

“I think it’s important to tell the community what we do behind the fence,” said Dick Farnsworth, the lab’s coordinator of the program.

Attendees, which mainly consisted of teenagers with some younger students and parents in the mix, learned about DNA found in fingerprints, testing for different kinds of anthrax and what the lab is doing to help check the air for pathogens.

Students also learned what type of jobs are available to work in forensics, including law enforcement, crime scene technicians and medical examiners.

Amador Valley High School sophomores Vaidahi Patel, 14, and Morgan Jones, 15, said the presentation was interesting because they would like to work in forensics one day.

“It was really good,” said Jones, who is in a biotechnology class with Patel.

Valley Montessori School science teacher Terry Greenaway brought his 13-year-old son, Stephen, and several of his students to the lecture.

“This is an incredible opportunity,” Greenaway said.

He said he hopes to be at other presentations.

Science on Saturday lectures are held at 9:30 a.m. Saturdays. The next lecture will be Feb. 19 on decoding genomes, followed by a Feb. 26 lecture on plasma spectroscopy and a March 5 lecture on observations of the universe.